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| #1  07-May-2005, 02:43 | ||||
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| 996R vs 996SPS Performance Touring Test! and DYNO CHARTS. DISCLAIMER: some of this may be fictional and i reserve the right to tell lies  and do not wish to encourage irresponsible behaviour.We were in the mountains and had just crossed into Spain, as i came round a bend i realised that the car we had been rapidly catching was indeed a police car which itself was travelling well above the speed limit. He continued at the same pace and being somewhat unsure i stayed behind him. We carried on for a couple of miles through some really good bends, all with solid white lines; as the road began to open up a little the policemans arm came out of the window and casually waved me through to overtake!!! Gotta admit i was a bit unsure about overtaking a speeding policecar, i hesitated; this was followed by frantic waving to get past from the police so it was a dream come true, pass a police car at around a 100mph on a long sweeping bend (safely and with good visibility). Welcome to Spain amigo. This is absolutely true despite the disclaimer, but don't blame me if you try the same and get nicked  The whole trip was pretty frantic with me on the 996R, Azzy on my old 996SPS and Phil on some Honda thingy. We covered 2600 miles in 7 days riding (though we did have a day off on the beach in the middle to justify the holiday bit). Performance touring is all about travelling as fast as possible over as long a distance with the minimum of kit. Suits me as i'm crap at track days. The shortest day, getting to the ferry was 290 miles and the longest day was 470 miles. We swapped bikes several times so in addition to fond memories i had ample opportunity to compare the 2 bikes. Both bikes were kitted out with Ventura luggage and the same Diablo tyres; the only real variable being that i'm a big fat git and Azzy is a small fat git and probably a better rider as well  It was great to be off on the first proper blast of the year after winter. The first day in France was typical inso much as the roads became progressively more fun as we got further south away from the Channel. By the time we reached the Massif Central we had already conducted some top speed runs having paid for the use of a private test track  to compare top speeds. To eliminate the the general lies and exageration i had a GPS which recorded maximum speed. Sceintific testing resulted in a true top speed of only 150mph, but stability was still perfect. We both concluded that the R was slightly quicker but there was remarkably little in it, especially with the size difference between us. The bikes would have gone significantly faster without the Ventura luggage which is just like having a pillion on the back, when you tuck in behind the screen the luggage is stuck up in the airflow. It may be nice to quote higher figures, but thats what the GPS said, and it wasn't for lack of trying. The GPS also showed that the speedo was only about 7mph out at top speed and 5mph out at 100mph on the speedo which seems more accurate than some rather optimistic Japanese speedo's i've tested. The worst culprit being a tuned Blackbird at Bruntingthorpe that showed 210mph but was only doing 186mph through the radar. Without the luggage both bikes will show over 160 on the speedo's. Unfortunately during further testing with higher speedo readings, the batteries had gone flat on the GPS. I'll just have to blag another testing day at Bruntingthorpe. We had used some autoroute to get away from the Channel and every time we pulled away from the toll booths Phil was given the treat of the sound of the 2 Ducati's being hammered away. The SPS sounds louder with a slightly deeper base sound. Its very hard to accelerate on either bike without the front wheel coming up just on the power, no use of the clutch whatsoever. The childish smile on my face was great as i occasionally got the wheelie right and managed to keep it up for a 100 metres or more instead of the normal 'Oh my god i'm gonna flip it, or, that was an inch of the floor, hope nobody saw that attempt. Wish i could do them properly like Mav, just have to carry on dreaming. We decided to try and find some different hotels in the Massif and ended up wasteing at least an hours valuable drinking time. Tip for the day, don't bother witha dump like Ussel, head onto Mauriac. Here we found a good hotel for 55 euros for the 3 of us, then wandered into the main square for a meal and discuss the relative merits of the bikes. Mauriac was completely barmy, despite its quaint small town appearance. The local kids on mopeds were using the town square as a race track doing their own version on the French MotoGP and nobody batted an eyelid. We troughed a good meal than thought it would be rude not to check out the exceedingly loud music coming out of the bar across the road. In we walked to the sight of a big party in full swing, shoved upto the bar and ordered 3 beers. This drunken French guy next to me starts ranting away very loudly insisting that as strangers in town he would buy us the drinks Who am i to argue with offers like that. Turns out the bar was changing owners that night so it was a big hello/goodbye party, the local rugby team were in (Rugby is very big in this area) and the was also a fair contingent of bikers in the place as well; as they're also big into dirt bikes. Complete strangers just walked up and bought us drinks, we of course reciprocated so careful analysis of the bikes gave way to heated debates about rugby, football, politics, lack of jobs in the area etc. As a consequnce the next morning passed us by before anyone felt like riding and we were left with a bit of a mad dash to get our rendezvous with 8 mates who were already down at the caravans near St. Tropez. The ride down was superb through some of the best roads in the Massif before hitting the Autoroute to bypass Millau. Millau used to have a crazy road going into it that climbed up the side of the mountain but this is now bypassed by a new bridge that is the highest bridge in Europe, designed by a Brit. This stretch of Autoroute also has some amazing high speed bends that really are a test of bottle, i'm sure it must have been designed by a biker We finally arrived in Port Grimaud as it was getting dark to find that thankfully the guys hadn't burnt the caravan down, but the stench was pretty bad  By this stage we'd covered over 1000 miles and had the next day off lazing around in Port Grimaud. We had a loose plan to meet up with Mav and his mates who were 50 miles down the coast in Cannes but things didn't work out. I also owe him an apology for ringing him about 2am in the morning as we left the bar, when he was fast asleep. Sorry Mav. Port Grimaud is a great place to chill out, the caravan is 200 metres from the beach, with some really nice bars and restaurants in the Port; and St. Tropez is only 5 miles away. The rest of the lads had been down for a week but Clat was looking very battered and sore after highsiding a mini moto at 10mph the day before we arrived. The end result was his leathers were thrashed and the main zip had been ripped out of his Akito leathers. God knows what state they would have been in if it had been a high speed crash! The plan was for an early start the next day but yet again we felt sorry for ourselves and considered having another night in town. By 1.30pm it was decision time, start partying again or get off. We suddenly sprang into life, packed in 20 minutes and were off again. Destination Andorra about 400 miles away. It was great to be back on the road again even though there was no option but to do the first 200 miles on Autoroutes before we hit the good twisties again. The climb up from the coast into the Pyrennes and Andorra via Bourg Madame, into Spain to La Seu D'urgell is another great road and better than going in via the Pas de la Casa. By the time we got up that way it was early evening and the traffic was really light. The road is a mixture of some tight bumpy bends opening out onto long sweeping stuff where you can comfortably hammer through the apex at 120mph and accelerate out with perfect vision of the road ahead. Its this type of stuff the Ducati's thrive upon with great punch out of the slower bends and absolutely unrivalled high speed stability through the quick stuff. Azzy said although the SPS is definately slower than his R1, it feels so much more secure and safe, especially at high speeds. Andorra was just a nights stop at the Hotel *******os. If you want soft toilet paper then stay in the Hotel Gayboy Engleesh Pig (for any of you that remember 'A Fistfull of Travellers Cheques' classic comedy). We did a quick tour of the bike shops in Andorra, but miracle of miracles none of us bought anything at all which is a real first. Then it was off back into Spain where we hit some of our favourite roads and passed the ever so obliging policeman. We zigzaged across the mountains until horror of horrors, rain stopped play  It was definately time to get out of the mountains to try and avoid the rain, but no luck as it followed most of the way upto Souillac. Our last day in France was a mere 445 miles upto the ferry at Caen via as many back roads as possible. A word of warning though for travelling in France on Sundays or Bank Holidays (and our last day was Ascension Day, a Bank Holiday in France) its hard to find petrol stations open away from the Autoroutes. The petrol stations that are signed as 24/7 are invariably unmanned and only take chip and pin type credit cards (but our English ones never work in the machines, anyone know why please?). On 2 occassions we had to sweet talk locals who were filling up their cars and get them to fill our bikes up on their credit cards and bung them the cash with a tip (Don't eat yellow snow )Then with about 150 miles to go to the ferry, for the first time in over a dozen trips abroad on Ducati's we had a mechanical hitch, and it was on my old SPS that i'd sold to Azzy.....oops, how embarrasing  We pulled up and i noticed Azzy's visor was wet and couldn't fathom out why he was the only one caught in an isolated shower.  Turns out it was coolant coming from the header tank. When i had stopped taking the mikey out of him for buying duff bikes from dodgy blokes i got on the Nellyphone to good old Neil at Cornerspeed for a bit of advice. He said get your prayer mats out, look to the South East, bow down in the direction of Bologna and wish for the best. Only joking, turns out its not unheard of for the coolant expansion tank round the headstock to fracture after lots of repeated heat cycles, as its a bit of a complex moulding and tends to give way on the seam. Helpful as ever and with great concern as i had sold it to Azzy, suggested that he should just keep it going and if it seizes than its ran out of coolant and has got a bit too hot! In reality, when it had cooled down the leak stopped and only reoccurred twice. We kept a close eye on the coolant level as it hadn't lost that much and made it to the ferry without actually needing to top it up. The overnight crossing on the ferry gave us a chance to sit down and compare notes on both bikes over the course of quite a long trip. HOW THE BIKES COMPARED. Since returning from the trip the R has been on the same dyno i put the SPS beforehand. Both the power and torque curves are remarkably similar all the way through the rev range except at 2 points. Between 6500 and 7500 rpm the SPS holds a clear advantage over the R, but when the R reaches 8750 rpm it clears off and leaves the SPS climbing to a peak of 132 bhp whereas the SPS reaches a max of 120 bhp. The R produces a peak torque figure of 72 ft lbs against 71 ft lbs for the SPS, but the R continues with a pretty flat torque curve higher up in the rev range whereas the SPS torque curve drops off a lot sharper after its peak. The SPS feels raw and more brutal in its power delivery which certain people think gives it more character. The 'stretta' engine feels smoother, more refined and seems to rev a little quicker, which is what you would expect from a shorter stroke engine. For some reason the clutch on the R is so much lighter, the lightest Ducati clutch i've ever had. The R feels slightly quicker off the line and marginally quicker on top speed. Azzy said the only way he could stay with me on ultimate top speed was to play silly buggers and draught me taking advantage of the rather large hole I punch in the air. Slight differnces in performance and feel may be attributable to the gearing changes. The SPS runs standard 15 tooth on the gearbox, but 2 extra teeth on the rear; whereas the R has 1 tooth less on the gearbox, which equates to 3 up on the rear. Fairly common mods on lots of 916/996's as common concensus is they are overgeared as standard. One very definate improvement on the R is the front brakes with the P4 calipers and lighter disc's. Simply awesome A not very interesting fact is that the stretta engine in the R was a little more economical at each fuel stop and if you cruise at a relaxed 100mph you can get not far short of 50mpg. Not that we did that much cruising. Don't think it would be a good excuse for getting away with speeding. 'Sorry Officer, i'm just trying to conserve fuel'. Oil consumption on both bikes was minimal over the course of a good 2600 mile thrashing. Handling wise, the R was a bit of a let down! When i bought it the Ohlins fork seals were leaking, now there's a real surprise! Instead of just getting just the seals replaced i decided to get both the forks and shock resprung and revlaved to suit my fat pig sponsored by Stella, physique. The result was rather disappointing, and i actually preferred the standard SPS suspension. When i've had this done on my ST4s the results were superb, and the bike just glided over bumps rather than bounced off them. I did experiment with the settings during the course of the trip but things still didn't feel as good as the SPS Further investigation on returning home revealed that the wrong rear spring had been fitted. The correct spring for my weight has now been fitted so time for more testing. The shop were very apologetic and it seems to have been a genuine mistake. Azzy used to be an R1-ophile (not quite as bad as a paedophile) and the SPS is his first Ducati. His comments are interesting. Common sense dictates that a Year 2000 R1 is a better buy at half the price of the SPS, in performance/value for money terms, and he did miss the extra power of the R1 at times. BUT he had lusted after a 996 for years so finally succumbed to the dream/madness. Did he regret it? Not in the slightest, he loves the Ducati despite the fact the R1 is lighter, quicker and more powerful. The sound, feel, power delivery make up for it, and he said on certain roads the R1 could get a bit too lively. Whereas the Ducati just inspired total confidence, but then i suppose i'm preaching to the converted here. Back to the R vs SPS. I'm definately glad i bought the R but being completely honest the difference between the 2 bikes is a little less than i expected. The R is a definate step forward but not a quantum leap. This may well sound strange in view of the top end power advantage and better brakes, but this only comes into play when you're chasing the last 10%. I suppose it demonstrates the effectiveness of Ducati's evolution from 916 to 996 to 998 engines in their various guises Bip to S to SPS to R. They are both superb bikes which i'm very lucky to have owned. To sum it up i would give the SPS 9.96 points and the R 9.98 points out of 10. Now who will let me borrow a 998R please? [Edited on 13-6-2005 by BDG] [Edited on 4-7-2005 by BDG]  |
| #2 07-May-2005, 03:24 | |||
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| #5 07-May-2005, 11:14 | ||||
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| Yes, the Police thing is a little confusing isn't it? Three years ago, I was in France with three mates travelling along the main road from Cherbourg to Bayeux. I'd had to stop for fuel so I pulled out to start to catch up with the rest. As I entered the road I noticed a single headlight closing on me at a fair old lick, so decided to take it steady till I knew what it was. Sure enough, it closed on me to reveal itself to be a Gendarme BMW. I sat crusing at the limit when the BM pulls along side me & the rider gives me a blast on the horn. I turn & look & he nods at me. I nod back. He makes a throttle twisting motion with his left wrist & nods again, this time with a daft grin on his face. I hesistate so he just waves forward as if to say go for it! So I did...... As we're approaching Bayeux where I'm stopping for the night, I pass my 3 mates at about 130- 135 mph with a Gendarme BMW about 20m behind me & left them all for dead. I pulled off a few miles further on to wait for the rest, all of whom thought I'd be shipped back to the UK in irons as my "companion" carried on towards Caen flat out.  |
| #6 09-May-2005, 01:45 | ||||
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| Quote:
Carefull Dibble, thats the first nice thing you've ever said about a Northerner Actually i'm really jealous you're off there, i wanna go back, have a great time. Martin..i'll try and elaborate a bit more. Rattler, the plan is to dyno both bikes to see what the differences are, and as for the other points i will be addressing them, but unfortunately they'll be hidden amognst the holiday waffle |
| #7 09-May-2005, 13:56 | ||||
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| Nice writeup BDG (as was your one in the mag for the land end to john O'groats day trip) The massif is excellent, isn't it. We did a week there last year. Have a look at the map east of Clermont Ferrand and try to find the - wait for it - D996 & D999 Absolutely blinding roads around there, right the way across to Mauriac. We've also had the same with coppers in Italy. A few years back a group of us were tearing up the cortina pass & caught a cop car up. Cop car goes for it, doing overtakes whenever he could, and when there wasn't enough room for him he waved the bikes through !! He caught us up again in Cortina itself having a coffeee. Gave us a toot and a thumbs up  We're off to the Alps in 2 weeks for 10 days, so hoping any coppers we come across are just as laid back this time |
| #8 09-May-2005, 14:33 | ||||
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| Quote:
John, haven't tried the D999 but i found the part of the D996 (had to try it) too bumpy and nadgery to be real fun on a Ducati, better suited to a supermoto in places, although we haven't done the full length of it. |
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